The Boy Who Lived, Thought To Be Dead
by Bruh nigga
Summary: Harry was taken that Halloween in 1981. Raised by the Death Eaters, he is sent to Hogwarts to pose as a student, but his mission? Kill Dumbledore. Simple, right? Yes, but actually no. HHr.
1. Prophecy To Die For

James Potter was awakened from his slumber, by a loud bang. He opened his eyes as did his wife, and they both got up from their embrace on their sofa, wands drawn, looking at the source of the noise. What they saw however, made their faces white and their blood cold. For standing at what used to be their door was the Dark Lord, Voldemort.

Without a second to lose, James transformed the couch into a thick concrete wall for cover. He sent two cutting curses, which the Dark Lord easily flicked away, sending a killing curse of his own, which James avoided using his cover, but the blasting curse the young Auror sent at his feet, not only surprised the Dark Lord, it also made him recoil a step. Being as proud as he was, Voldemort did not take whatever made him weak, lightly, and so he sent a blasting curse of his own which destroyed the wall James was using as cover.

But the wall was quickly repaired by his wife, the red haired Lily Potter. While the two wizards were fighting, the witch was readying a powerful protective ward, which went up after she repaired the wall.

The Dark Lord sent two killing curses at the couple, but was surprised to see it dissipate before reaching them. Knowing that the Potters had set up a ward to protect themselves, Voldemort prepared to destroy it.

"Take Harry and go to Hogwarts!" James yelled at his wife quickly. Lily's expression turned into one of confusion, then anger. At this moment the Dark Lord fired what appeared to be a blue beam into the ward and it started to very slowly crumble.

"I'm not leaving you here!" Lily shouted back.

"There's no time, go and I'll join you." James yelled frantically, practically pushing the woman up the stairs. Lily, now a tiny bit relieved that her stupidly brave husband wasn't going to sacrifice himself, she rushed up the stairs into the nursery.

At this moment, James smiled faintly as he got an idea that was so crazy, it might work. The ward Lily put up was seconds away from being down, and the Dark Lord grinned widely as he also realized this. Just as the ward went down, James waved his wand around producing mass amounts of smoke.

This made Voldemort's smile fade away, and so he shot multiple killing curses at random. But seeing as this had no effect, he sent a large gust of wind which cleared the whole room, revealing it to be empty.

"Hmph." said Voldemort, amused, after a human presence revealing spell showed no one nearby.

'_The coward fled' _he thought to himself as he proceeded up the stairs and into the hallway. He blasted the first door open, and it appeared to be the couple's bedroom. He went further down the hallway to the next door. He waved his wand towards it, blasting it open.

Lily let out a yelp as this happened. She had just made one of little Harry's toys into a portkey since Voldemort had put up anti-apparition wards around the house before approaching, and she touched it, expecting to feel the sensation of apparating, but just like she thought, there was also an anti-porkey ward.

Despair filled her, as she felt a pang in her chest, a lump in her throat and her entire body went numb in anticipation for what was to come. She looked at Harry. He was wailing because he was awakened by the blast. She would never see him again. She didn't even know if James made it out alive. She was going to die here. She cried with him, as she knew there wasn't anything she could do against a wizard who rivaled Albus Dumbledore in strength.

Seeing the mudblood cry without even trying to defend herself made Voldemort think about what his servant begged him. He did not understand why Severus loved this woman. Even though she was married to another man, he still wanted her life spared.

Severus had proven himself to be very useful. He was skilled in dueling, and he served as a spy for him in Dumbledore's order. So if he killed her right now, Severus might betray him, considering how much he loved her.

With a flick of his wand, he knocked out Lily and the baby started to fall, but he caught him with a levitation charm before he hit the ground. He pulled the boy towards him, and he put him to sleep with a small stunning charm. As he held the baby who was destined to kill him, he thought back to weeks ago when he was deciding on what to do with the prophecy brought to him by Severus.

His first thought was to kill the boy and prevent any threats against him. But the boy was not the only threat to the vision he had for the Wizarding World. Albus Dumbledore. He was the only one who rivaled his power and everyone knew it. Yet, even Dumbledore could not defeat him, and nor could he defeat Dumbledore. And if this boy had the potential to defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, then if raised accordingly, he could be the weapon to unleash upon the world and Dumbledore. And in the future he could maybe even be his successor.

He grinned widely at the sleeping boy in his arms. Removing the wards he had previously put up, he disapparated back to his home and base of operations, the Riddle Manor.

He appeared at the empty dining room where he and his top lieutenants have meetings. He took his seat at the head of the table and called Malfoy through his dark mark.

"You summoned, my Lord?" said Lucius Malfoy meekly, as he apparated into the room, a minute or so later.

"This child, Lucius, is destined for great things. We only need to raise him to the beliefs we uphold. I trust you to do this." the Dark Lord ordered, as he beckoned Lucius over, and handed the baby to him. "He will ensure our victory against Dumbledore."

"What's his name?" asked Lucius, carefully picking up the baby into his arms.

"Harry Potter." said the Dark Lord, watching his lieutenant's expression turn into one of shock. "He will be raised and trained, until he is strong enough to fight Dumbledore."

"If I may ask, my lord, what makes you think that this boy has the power to defeat Dumbledore?" inquired Lucius, curiously.

Voldemort looked at him for a moment before answering, "There was a prophecy. It said that this child, is fated to defeat me," Lucius looked even more shocked. "This boy would have grown up under Dumbledore's tutelage and would eventually mean our downfall. But if he were to be raised as one of us, as a Death Eater?" Voldemort let that sink in, "You are dismissed."

Lucius nodded, his expression quickly turning emotionless as always, and disapparated back to Malfoy Manor.

As he appeared in the main hall of his large manor, he thought about what this meant for his future, while walking up the stairs and into his bedroom. The boy was Draco's age. They could grow up as brothers. Lucius had no problem raising this child, he would have Dobby and Narcissa to do it. It was just an unusual feeling. It's not everyday you're forced to adopt a half-blood infant.

He reached the door to his bedroom and opened it. Narcissa was still asleep, as he did not wake her when he left to the Dark Lord's call. He lowered the baby gently on his side of the bed and went to the other side to wake up his wife. He shook her lightly, which woke her up with a surprised look on her face.

Taking note of his Death Eater outfit, she asked, "What?".

"The Dark Lord tasked me with raising the Potter child." Lucius stated dryly.

"WHAT?!" shouted Narcissa, waking up the baby behind her. She looked at the now wailing baby and back to Lucius, obviously asking for an explanation.

"He told me that this boy has the power to defeat Dumbledore, that he was the one who could ensure his victory in the war. He said that he trusted me with this." he explained. Narcissa looked at him understandingly. She knew he couldn't just refuse the Dark Lord's request, but a baby? She didn't even know how this little half-blood could take on Dumbledore, and she even questioned the Dark Lord's sanity, to herself of course. But she agreed nonetheless.

_Earlier…_

James Potter ran as fast as his four legs could take him. He reached the outskirts of Godric's Hollow and changed back into his human form. He looked back on his shoulder, at Potter Cottage. Lily must already be at Hogsmeade. With a final sigh, he disapparated to Hogsmeade Village.

Looking around, he saw that Lily was nowhere to be found. He assumed she had already made it to Dumbledore, so he rushed to the bridge leading to his alma mater. Halfway through his destination, he was stopped by Dumbledore appearing a few meters in front of him.

Not letting the man speak, he uttered the question he was dreading the answer to, "Where's Lily?" he asked, panting.

Dumbledore's expression hardened as he answered, "Not here."

James's face went pale and his heart skipped a beat. Without hesitating he disapparated back to Godric's Hollow and Dumbledore followed suit. He arrived at the path leading up to what was left of his door and he sprinted. He ran as fast he could, up the stairs and into the nursery. He stopped at the door for what he saw there made his entire body cold. Lily's body was lying motionless on the floor and Harry was gone. James swallowed the lump in his throat as tears began to fall freely from his eyes and onto his face. He sunk slowly against the wall, as the tears became sobs, for James had just realized that he ran away while the love of his life and only child were murdered. He let them die. He did not protect them. He had nothing and no one now. He held his face in his hands as he kept crying. Not even noticing Dumbledore slowly approach him and then leave. He spent a few more minutes like this when he heard two sets of loud thumping footsteps approach at a fast speed. He looked up to see two familiar faces, that of his best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They approached the room themselves and Remus's breath hitched. As they saw the image of Lily dead on the ground, they all cried softly together. A moment that did not last longer than seconds, as they heard a female groan from the room.

They practically bolted to the red head's side as it was obvious now that she was alive. She opened her eyes, as she saw James, she asked, "Where's Harry?"

The tears on his face and eyes told her what she didn't want to hear. She quickly got up, her heart pounding in her chest. Her baby was gone. Tears fell freely as her knees gave out and she fell back down on the floor and James held her in his arms.

The relief they felt when they realized that their friend was alive was now gone. The four said nothing for what felt like forever, as they all just sat there, the parents grieving the loss of their son and the uncles, their nephew.

Lily's crying stopped, she was now just staring into nothing. Sirius patted James lightly on the shoulder, drawing his attention.

"You're staying with me tonight. Come on." he said, softly, wiping the tears from his face and getting up. James nodded and he almost lifted Lily on her feet.

He put his hand on James's shoulder and his wand hand on Remus's. They appeared in the living room of 12 Grimmauld Place. The place was abandoned by Sirius's family, with most of them dying of natural causes. Now only Sirius lived here. But this was also the main headquarters for the Order of Phoenix.

Sirius gestured James to follow him up the stairs and he and Lily, who was being held up by James, followed him.

Sirius pointed at the second door in the hallway and said, "This one here." he opened the door for the two and James went inside with Lily. Sirius watched as James whispered some words of comfort to her, and laid her down on the bed.

James kissed her temple softly and went back to Sirius. He exited the room and Sirius closed the door behind him. They both went down the stairs. Remus looked at them with raised eyebrows, as Sirius went into the kitchen, opened a cupboard and got a bottle of firewhiskey and three glasses, as the men sat around the small dining table. Sirius filled each of the glasses and sat down, trying to drown the sadness they all felt inside.

The three best friends spent a few minutes like this, each lost in their own thoughts, until James spoke up, "God, I don't even know if he's alive."

Sirius looked at him, "Well, there has to be spells, rituals, that could help you locate him, since you are bound by blood."

"I hope so."

They sat in silence a little while longer, before they were joined by Lily. James pulled up a chair for her next to him and she sat down. He put his arm around her, and they noticed that she had cried again.

"I need some of that." said Lily, her voice hoarse, obviously referring to the bottle of firewhiskey on the table, something that surprised the three.

Sirius summoned a cup from the cupboard and what surprised them even further was when she drank the entire cup in a single swig. They had never seen Lily break character like this, but they understood. Lily was a very emotional woman, they knew that. They wouldn't be surprised if they never saw the Lily they knew.

**A.N.: See how I made excuses for everything? It all makes sense, right? Anyway, tell me what you thought of the first chapter of a story I really hope I won't abandon.**


	2. So What's Up With Harry?

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry Potter looked at the green beam of light that exited the tip of Barty Crouch's wand, and hit his target. His target, however, was a gravestone. They were practising in the graveyard near the Riddle Manor.

"Simple, right?" he asked Harry as he turned back to look at him. Before letting him answer he continued, "But this spell is a little more complicated than a cutting curse."

Thirteen year old Harry listened carefully to his final lesson in Death Eatery. He already knew how to kill a man, as he had killed one prisoner at the Dark Lord's behest, a year ago. He had learned how to use most defensive and offensive curses, but only one and arguably the most important one was left.

"To cast this spell, you need to channel your hate for them." said Barty as he walked towards the prisoner under the Imperius curse. "Muggleborns." spat Barty with disdain. "They think they are equal to proper wizards and witches," he paused and looked at Harry, who was looking at the prisoner, "Focus on your hate, and think about how the world would be better if these people weren't in it."

Raising his wand and preparing to say the incantation, Harry thought about the man kneeling in front of him. He knew all mudbloods deserved to die because they were what was wrong with society. Magic was not for those with impure blood as all the muggleborn magic users were weak, their magic being far inferior to that of a pureblood wizard, and so they should all be eradicated.

He looked at the man's hazy eyes, and calmly uttered "Avada Kedavra"

The familiar green beam of the killing curse hit the man in the head and knocked him forcefully back. Lowering his wand, he retracted it back into his wrist holster. He looked back at Barty. "That will come in really handy later on." he quipped, as he looked back at the destroyed gravestone. It wasn't fully destroyed, as only a chunk of it was gone.

"Now really focus your hate. You should be able to kill anyone besides muggleborns, if the need arises." Looking back at Harry, he said, "Destroy that gravestone with the killing curse."

Like before he tapped into his hate, and in a single motion, drew his wand, raised his hand and flicked his wand at the gravestone, aiming at the base of it, "Avada Kedavra!" this time he raised his voice from its previous decibel.

Harry smiled as he saw the entire gravestone get destroyed. Looking back again at Barty, he saw that he was smiling a smile of his own, much wider than Harry's.

"If you can kill a piece of stone, then killing Aurors won't be a problem." said Barty, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry smiled in reply.

Barty turned and started to walk towards the Riddle Manor with Harry on his tail."Well, now you know all the spells you need to. Tomorrow, we'll learn dueling."

"Brilliant! Finally, REAL lessons." Harry teased Barty's back.

"You can't duel without spells, Harry. That's an ignorant thing to say." Barty remarked back at him.

"I know that." Harry threw his hands up as he tried to explain, "It's just... boring."

"That's understandable. Just know that this will be much harder." Barty chuckled. By this time they had reached the door to the manor. "Class dismissed." Harry nodded and drew his wand once more. He disapparated to his home, Malfoy Manor. Harry appeared in the front yard and minding his own business, he went upstairs to his room.

Harry sat on his bed and picked up his spell book. He skimmed through it really fast to try and remember useful spells for tomorrow, as he had already read the book twice and practiced most of the spells in it. The cutting curse, blasting curse, shield charm and disarming charm. Those were his main weapons. He wouldn't use the killing curse against Barty. He knew he didn't stand a chance against someone like him but he would do his best to fight him.

The next morning, Harry and Barty were standing in front of each other, a few meters apart.

"Now, some very important rules to remember." Barty drew his wand, which Harry copied, as he started pacing back and forth, "Cover. Never be out in the open. Always find a place to take cover, and if you can't find one, make one." He waved his wand as a brick wall as tall as him manifested in front of him. Harry waved his wand as he had already mastered conjuration and transfiguration, and replicated Barty's wall. Barty stepped away from behind his wall, "Always be aware of your enemy's location. The human presence revealing charm is the tool for this." Harry nodded. "And always be on the move. Because when you need to kill someone, your best weapon is stealth and when you're detected, you need to lose them, as the element of surprise can end any battle in a second. The disillusionment charm, apparating, the smoke screen spell, all of these combined will help you win fights against even the strongest duel master. Now, are you ready?" Harry nodded again, changing his stance, "Begin."

Barty stepped behind his wall, barely missing Harry's cutting curse. Harry ran towards one of the gravestones and sent a blasting curse at Barty's wall before taking cover behind it. "Homenum Revelio." he whispered and looked around to see where his dueling instructor was. He seemed to be behind another conjured wall not from his location. He sent another blasting curse at him, but saw it dissipate before reaching the said wall. Noticing this, he conjured a rock that was twice his size and levitated it up a few meters and threw it at the wall.

Just as this happened, Barty rose to send a blasting curse of his own at Harry and his eyes widened for a second as he saw what was approaching him, but his reflexes kicked in and he stopped it midair. The blasting curse he sent at Harry hit his cover and debris injured Harry a little, but that didn't seem to stop him as he ran towards another cover, one that was behind Barty but was quickly discovered and as Barty turned to send a blasting curse at him, he saw that Harry had created a wide, but short wall to protect and hide himself but his location was discovered and Barty sent a quick blasting curse at his cover which destroyed half of it, but Harry rose and aimed his wand at him, slashed down. Barty, realizing that Harry had just thrown down rock he had immobilized, rolled out of the way and cast a smoke screen charm.

Harry thinking he had won the battle, smiled and approached the smoke the rock had created. He cast a ventus at the smoke and his smile faded as he saw Barty was not there. Before he had the chance to cast a shield charm, he felt his wand escape from his hand and looked to see it fly behind him and into Barty's hand.

Barty smiled triumphantly at him before saying, "You threw a boulder at me?" incredulously.

Harry laughed at his own intellect as he had gotten the idea some time ago. "Do you think if I conjure a flat object, stand on it, and then levitate it, would it work?"

Barty laughed, "I have no idea.". He proceeded to conjure a square wooden platform. He then stepped on it and cast the levitation charm and it worked! They both laughed in amazement as he lifted himself higher and higher until he was five meters above Harry.

"Hmmm. It only seems to work if you keep levitating." Harry surmised, thinking of a way to keep it in the air.

"What?" Barty shouted, not having heard what he said.

"It only works if you keep levitating it!" Harry shouted back.

"What if we immobilized it?" Barty suggested, as he aimed again at the platform, "Cast the spell so I can keep levitating it."

Harry raised his wand, "Immobulus."

"All right, get ready." As soon as Barty cancelled the charm, he started to fall, but quick reflexes did not allow him to hit the ground as he quickly cast, "Arresto Momentum!"

His descent slowed and he landed on his two feet. "Well, that didn't work. And I really don't see what it could be useful for."

Harry shrugged in response, "At least we learned something."

"All right, let's continue. Now, we'll practice what I taught you later. I want you to learn how to duel traditionally." Barty walked a few meters away from Harry, then turned, "You won't always have the opportunity to hide, sometimes you have to face people directly. It's very simple, just use shield charms and any offensive spells you know, until your enemy slips up." Harry nodded in understanding.

"Ready?"

"Yes." Harry raised his wand.

"Go."

Harry quickly cast, "Protego!", before quickly sending a blasting curse to put Barty out of balance. His shield charm was destroyed by Barty's disarming charm, but before he could put up another one, he was disarmed by Barty. He looked at him in surprise. "How did you do that?"

Barty chuckled, "I sent two in a row. That's a useful trick." He threw Harry's wand back to him. "We'll duel a few more times and then we'll be done for the day."

And so they did. Four more times, with Barty coming out on top everytime.

This became their ritual for the next year. Everyday at noon, Barty and Harry would duel until one disarmed the other. They sometimes dueled Barty style, but mostly he taught Harry traditional dueling. They cut each other, blasted each other and just hurt each other as best as they could. Harry's skill and tolerance for pain both increased by each passing day.

Harry woke up in his bed, at 7AM, feeling tired. Pushing through the pressure of his body calling him to go back to sleep, he got up and went to do his morning rituals. After a shower, he magically dried himself, and looked at himself in the mirror. His facial features consisted of refined cheekbones and jet black hair that reached his ears.

As he went back into the room, he approached his nightstand and picked up his round spectacles. Putting them on, he got his clothes from his closet. His white shirt, black pants, but not the jacket as it was summer. He exited the room and went downstairs, into the Malfoy Manor dining room. The room was large with a dining table large enough to fit twelve people, in the center. He sat at the currently empty table, as it was still early for the family to awaken. His meal was already prepared by the house elves, as they were aware of his morning habits. Eggs and bacon with a glass of pumpkin juice.

After finishing his meal he went back up into his room, picked up the book in his nightstand sat down on the bed and started to read.

Two hours later, Draco more or less barged into his room. "Crabbe, Goyle, Nott and Blaise are here and we need another seeker." He smiled at Harry, knowing he never gave up the opportunity to play Quidditch.

Harry returned his smile and got up from his bed not caring where he dropped his book. Opening his closet, he got his Nimbus 2001 that Mr. Malfoy bought for him.

Draco turned and went down the stairs expecting to be tailed by Harry but after reaching half way down the stairs, hearing no footsteps behind him, he turned to see Harry had not actually left his room. Climbing back up, he again went to his room to urge him to hurry, only to find his room to be empty and wind blowing from the now open window. He smiled to himself and went to join the others.

Harry, however, was not so quick to do so. He flew around for a whole minute just because he enjoyed it so much, before joining his friends, who were now looking annoyed at Harry. Descending, he got off his broom and greeted his friends.

"Alright, like always, Crabbe, Goyle, you'll be the beaters, Nott, Blaise, chasers, me and Draco will be seekers." Harry got on his broom and prepared to fly before he was interrupted by Blaise.

"Wait. I think we should do this a little differently this time."

Harry looked at him curiously as did Draco. Harry asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, instead of you and Draco being seekers, why not me and Nott be seekers and you two be chasers." Blaise responded.

Draco looked at him incredulously. "You can't be serious. You don't even know how to seek."

"And you don't know how to chase." Blaise returned.

"What would even be the point of that?" Harry asked, still floating a meter above them.

"We've been doing it like this all the time." Blaise argued. "I think it could be fun to spice things up."

"This isn't your parents bedroom, Blaise." Harry joked, and everyone except Blaise laughed at him. "But I see what you're suggesting." Harry continued after the laughter died down. "Alright, we'll do your idea." Harry declared after a moment of contemplation.

The boys teamed up. Harry, Goyle and Nott, Draco, Crabbe and Blaise.

After a match that was won by Draco's team. Harry, bitter about his loss, confronted Blaise. "You only suggested that idea because you learned how to seek."

Blaise smiled mischievously, "That, may or may not be true."

They hung out until afternoon, talking, having fun, when they were interrupted by Barty. They were in the front yard of Malfoy Manor and Nott was sharing a story of one of his sexual conquests, as teenage boys do.

Barty looked at Harry, "Come with me." and without even waiting for a response, he put his hand on his shoulder and disapparated.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" Blaise asked Draco, looking at him for answers.

"I think it's safe to assume the Dark Lord summoned him." The two boys looked at him in surprise. "I assume!" He clarified, noticing their faces.

Harry felt the familiar sensation of being squeezed through a small pipe, before landing on his feet in front of Riddle Manor. "What's this about?" He asked Barty as the man walked at a fast pace towards the main entrance.

"He's summoned you." Barty answered without turning back. Upon hearing this Harry got nervous. He had been in the Dark Lord's presence a few other times but that didn't ease his fright. Still, he gathered his courage and started to match Barty pace.

"Why am I summoned?" He asked again, looking at Barty.

"I have no idea." He answered, as he opened the door to the dining room.

"My Lord." They both addressed him, to which he just gestured to Harry to come closer. Complying, Harry approached the man who was terrorizing Wizarding Britain on a monthly basis.

"The time has come, Harry, for you to accomplish your task." Harry looked at him in shock and unbeknownst to him, so did Barty. "I'm aware that you weren't able to train to your full potential, but circumstances have aligned in a way, that makes this year the perfect year for you to infiltrate Hogwarts." He paused before explaining, "The Triwizard Tournament is being held this year, at Dumbledore's school, and you will act as a student from Durmstrang Institute." Harry assumed that there was a plan already in motion for him to do so, unnoticed. "You will then go to Hogwarts with some other select Durmstrang students and after the year is done you will transfer to Hogwarts, but there is an issue. You see, if people recognize you as the long lost Potter child, you will be asked a lot of questions." Harry's stomach tied in knot as he thought about the prospect of meeting his real parents, but he didn't have time to think about that as the Dark Lord continued, "You will be prepared however as there is a cover story for your disappearance. Barty will explain the rest. You are dismissed." Harry nodded and bowed before turning and walking towards the door.

Harry then heard the Dark Lord summon Barty over, presumably to give him the full briefing.

His head was spinning. He was going to Hogwarts. He had to kill the most powerful wizard alive. He was going to meet his parents, probably. He almost threw up thinking about the weights that were put on his shoulder. But he decided to think about them later. Drawing his wand, he disapparated back to Malfoy Manor.

A.N.: Eh? What'd you think? I didn't have a cover story for how he went to Durmstrang, but I'll think of something.

Also I chose Barty because Barty Crouch Jr. teaching Harry Potter about the unforgivables is cannon. *Wink* .


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